Photo taken in the Pololū Valley, Hawaii — February 26, 2020
Beaches are the least interesting part of the Big Island of Hawaii. I’ll probably alienate people by saying that and the tourist board may object, but for me it’s true.
This photo is a good example. On the north side of the island, after hiking down a hill festooned with “danger” signs, fording a stream on a black-sand beach and ditching less-adventurous tourists, we found ourselves in a valley that felt like a prehistoric landscape of tall ironwood trees and an endless, dense carpet of green ground cover. It seemed that at any moment a dinosaur could burst through the trees and devour us. That didn’t happen, obviously.
* Why I didn’t post it: Again, the standard disclaimers about posting vacation photos in the early days of COVID-19. But I do like this photo, especially because I caught Kathy, Wayne and Diana in a patch of light that helps them stand out against the primordial background. To me, the scene feels calm and lush and tranquil. What’s your take? Was I right to post it? Or should it have remained in digital limbo?
(* I took a lot of photos in 2020, more than in any previous year. Some I shared, but looking back I’ve found many I didn’t. Maybe I thought they weren’t good enough, maybe I had something else to post or maybe…I just plain forgot. As the year winds down I’m rectifying those oversights and posting some photos I overlooked earlier in 2020.)